I want to call shenanigans!

Nurses General Nursing

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Ok this may be a little silly but I thought I would ask some fellow nurses here on AN.

Say you are allergic to mushrooms? Is it possible to have an allergic reaction from just being in the presence of a "cooked mushroom." Even if you have not ingested any of it or even touched it, in any way shape or form. It's a long story that accompanies why I am asking,it's mildly humorous in itself. But I am no way shape or form saying that food allergies are not serious. Just that I personally have not heard or seen anyone who had an allergic reaction just from being in the presence of a food that they were allergic too. Has anyone ever witnessed this?

Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
Yeah- might not be a bad idea to talk to her...if she's crying wolf, and not around someone who would recognize early s/s anaphylaxis, she could be toast by the time anyone knew something was really wrong.... a few minutes could be crucial. OR, has she seen bad reactions and thinks she could have them (fear vs allergy).....lots of possibilities to let her 'out' of this gracefully.... :)

While this might be true, she did perfectly fine in the car WITH the pizza....

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I used to know a girl in church choir that was so allergic to peanuts she had to sit at a different table then anyone who had a PB and J sandwich.

Rough existence huh? Can't imagine how she flies on airplanes!

Not a problem..... they quit handing out goobers a while back- at least the ones I've been on :D

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While this might be true, she did perfectly fine in the car WITH the pizza....

LOL..... then maybe she's got a fungi phobia :D

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Specializes in Pedatrics, Child Protection.

Two thoughts here....

I am allergic to peanuts and can start to react as soon as I smell them. This is an adult-onset allergy and gets worse with each exposure. So ya, I get a bit tense when I'm exposed but also start to swell and itch.

Worked with a guy with the same allergy. If he was in the same room as something peanut based he would have an anxiety attack (full blown) and hyperventilate to the point where he would pass out. When we checked with his mother, she said that he had broken out in hives once as a child, but was so afraid of having a more severe reaction that he would completely panic.

As for the gf and the mushrooms? Avoid mushrooms. ;)

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Well to clarify a little. My brothers girlfriend freaked out last night because we brought a pizza into the house that had mushrooms on it saying she is allergic. She promptly began to claw and scratch at her neck saying she was breaking out in hives. She had not eaten or touched any of the pizza. I know what hives look like she did not have hives. I asked her if she was having difficulty breathing, chest pain feeling funny? No on all accounts. She seemed fine didnt become diaphorectic her neck was red but that was be she kept clawing at it. And literally 5 mins later she was fine. But as soon as my brother came home the hives were back! and she started frantically itching again. So I want to think that in her case it was for attention, seeing as she no s/s of an allergic reaction of any kind.
Who are you to judge? If she says she hs an allergy then she has an allergy. It may have become so strong for her that she mentally connotes the physical presence of the mushrooms with her her having a reaction.

PS- if she is a fickle-head then please ignore the above comments.

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.
Who are you to judge? If she says she hs an allergy then she has an allergy. It may have become so strong for her that she mentally connotes the physical presence of the mushrooms with her her having a reaction.

PS- if she is a fickle-head then please ignore the above comments.

Not judging in the least. I know food allergies are nothing to joke about. ANd in no way am I trying to dispute that at some point in time she she may have had a serious reaction to something and that it fightened her to the point that it causes her anxiety by just by being in said "things" presense. Just that in this case I found it a little odd that:

1. She had no issues whatsoever in the car with me while near that pizza.

2. She had no s/s of any type of allergic reaction. i.e. she didn;t begin to have any difficulty breathing, there was nothing that even appeared even hive like on her person.

3. 5 minutes later she had stopped scraching totally and didn't mention in anymore it untill my borther came home.

So in her case I'm not quite sure what she was trying to accomplish, do I think she had an allergic reaction? Honestly, no, because what she was doing didn't add up too me.

I love my bro and I do like this girl so in no way shape or form am I trying to judge her or make fun of something that is very serious to her. I personally honestly did not know that it was possible to have an allergic reaction from just being in the presence of an allergen. And thanks to the awesome replies in on AN, I learned something myself last night. I did clarify myself a few times throughout this thread so that people would know that I am not a complete looney tune. LOL

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Not judging in the least. I know food allergies are nothing to joke about. ANd in no way am I trying to dispute that at some point in time she she may have had a serious reaction to something and that it fightened her to the point that it causes her anxiety by just by being in said "things" presense. Just that in this case I found it a little odd that:

1. She had no issues whatsoever in the car with me while near that pizza.

2. She had no s/s of any type of allergic reaction. i.e. she didn;t begin to have any difficulty breathing, there was nothing that even appeared even hive like on her person.

3. 5 minutes later she had stopped scraching totally and didn't mention in anymore it untill my borther came home.

So in her case I'm not quite sure what she was trying to accomplish, do I think she had an allergic reaction? Honestly, no, because what she was doing didn't add up too me.

I love my bro and I do like this girl so in no way shape or form am I trying to judge her or make fun of something that is very serious to her. I personally honestly did not know that it was possible to have an allergic reaction from just being in the presence of an allergen. And thanks to the awesome replies in on AN, I learned something myself last night. I did clarify myself a few times throughout this thread so that people would know that I am not a complete looney tune. LOL

A person is entitled to food allergies.......YOU are entitled to have drama queen allergies!!!!!:up:

True food allergies can be extreme and life limiting....there are common foods that trigger theses types of reactions....peanuts/nuts, shellfish....

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-allergies/AA00057 mushroom aren't one of them...I'm not saying she doesn't have an issue but given the description........:rolleyes::smokin:

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Well to clarify a little. My brothers girlfriend freaked out last night because we brought a pizza into the house that had mushrooms on it saying she is allergic. She promptly began to claw and scratch at her neck saying she was breaking out in hives. She had not eaten or touched any of the pizza. I know what hives look like she did not have hives. I asked her if she was having difficulty breathing, chest pain feeling funny? No on all accounts. She seemed fine didnt become diaphorectic her neck was red but that was be she kept clawing at it. And literally 5 mins later she was fine. But as soon as my brother came home the hives were back! and she started frantically itching again. So I want to think that in her case it was for attention, seeing as she no s/s of an allergic reaction of any kind.

Maybe she's allergic to your brother?:clown:

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

BTW, I always thought that Shenanigans would be a great name for a bar.

My city has one of these. :)

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Specializes in LTC, Rehab.
Maybe she's allergic to your brother?:clown:

HA! You make a valid point. LOL

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
Who are you to judge? If she says she hs an allergy then she has an allergy. It may have become so strong for her that she mentally connotes the physical presence of the mushrooms with her her having a reaction.

PS- if she is a fickle-head then please ignore the above comments.

She was in the car with the OP and the pizza was in the car too. All three were riding merrily along with no worries. I wonder if the GF started to get jittery when the OP opened the pizza box and the GF actually SAW the mushrooms.

If the above scenario is true, then the 'allergy' is more than likely not a true allergy, as she would have had a reaction as soon as she got into a small enclosed space (such as a car). With all of the scratching at her neck and histronics that she displayed, my guess is that she may have heard somewhere about anaphylaxis to mushrooms.

Who knows, really?

I hope your brother sees her dramatic streak as endearing. He must get quite a chuckle when he is around her. As long as he is happy, then none of the above really matters.

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This comment goes into the FWIW pile.... and I'm in no way saying for sure that the GF has any legit/non-legit mushroom issues... but I thought about mushrooms in general- (not necessarily the ones cremated on a pizza:D). Someone could be allergic to the spores.... Cause a more mild histamine reaction, but if anyone had heard about the severe nature of other food allergies mistaken the more "hay fever" sort of reaction for anaphylaxis..... just a thought (been thinking again- I apologize :loll:)

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